NEW PHILADELPHIA, OH (WKYC) — Two men have been charged after a video was released on social media showing the torture of several baby opossums.
The New Philadelphia police chief, Michael Goodwin, posted on the department’s Facebook page that someone reached out to him while he was off duty when they saw the video online.
The chief said in the post that the video was “on Facebook live showing 2 males videotaping several baby opossum’s. The video seems to show that they had no idea what kind of animals these were. They then videoed themselves torturing one of the animals by using a butane torch.”
The chief said they found both suspects “and a confession was obtained.”
Justin Brill was charged with cruelty to animals and Brent Vickers Jr. with complicity. Brill is being held on $125,000 bond, while Vickers is due in court on May 17, NBC affiliate WKYC-TV reports.
The condition of the animals is unknown.
